digital-communication
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TextNow
TextNow is a Waterloo-born wireless company that gives people phone service for free by letting advertisers, not subscribers, foot the bill. Started in 2009 as a way to dodge texting fees, it has grown into the largest provider of free mobile phone service in the United States, offering unlimited talk, text, and free essential data over a nationwide 5G network through its app-based MVNO. With roughly 10 million monthly active users and revenue north of $100 million, TextNow built a real telecom business on a simple bet: communication should be a right, paid for by ads rather than by the people who can least afford a phone bill.
Derek Ting
Derek Ting is the co-founder and CEO of TextNow, the Waterloo-based company he started in 2009 at age 19 with classmate Jon Lerner while studying computer engineering at the University of Waterloo. What began as a scrappy solution to outrageous carrier text messaging fees has grown into the only U.S. mobile provider offering unlimited talk, text, and free essential data on a nationwide 5G network. The TextNow app has been downloaded more than 200 million times worldwide, making Derek one of the most consequential quiet disruptors in American telecommunications - building a profitable, venture-light company that serves millions of users who can't afford traditional phone service.
Jesse Hassinger
Jesse Hassinger is the CEO of Hustle, a San Francisco-based peer-to-peer text messaging platform used by nonprofits, political campaigns, labor unions, and universities to mobilize people at scale. With over eight years at Hustle progressing from Director of Support to Director of Product before taking the helm as CEO in early 2025, Hassinger brings a rare blend of grassroots political organizing experience and deep product intuition to leading one of the most widely adopted civic tech platforms in the country — one that has facilitated over one billion text conversations.